Idea2Impact: Celebrating the Spring25 Cohort
Another group of talented AUT students has successfully completed the Idea2Impact programme, showcasing an impressive range of ideas and how they could be brought to life to create real-world impact.
The Spring25 cohort marked the third group to complete the programme, and these students came ready to hit the ground running, with many having already conducted market validation for their concepts before the first session even began, truly embodying the entrepreneurial spirit.
Innovation and Impact on Display
AUT Ventures Venture Director, Chris Hill, was impressed by the diversity of ideas and the students’ commitment:“It’s great to see so many AUT students willing to explore translating their research into impact as they complete their Master’s or PhDs. As AUT’s commercialisation office, this gives us real confidence in the future projects that will emerge.”
With almost a dozen postgraduate participants (and one undergraduate!), the students explored a wide variety of innovative ideas, culminating in a Showcase event. Judged by a distinguished panel of Matias Kinzurik (AUT Ventures), Mitali Purohit (Nuance Connected Capital), and Jardin Green (Momentum), the final presentations were of such a high standard that deliberation took longer than expected.
And the Winners Are...
Congratulations to the following students for their outstanding pitches and innovative ideas:
- $3000 Innovation Award: Julian Zhang for TableTale
- $2000 Innovation Award: Leah La Hood for LawMind
- $2500 JW Legal Award: Rifqah Azzahra Naulidia for GlucoGold Yoghurt
- $200 Ignite Award: Sreedath Ikarath for RAIN (Resilient AI for Infrastructure Networks)
- $100 Ignite Award: Gustav Kahn for gus-energy
Special Thanks
A huge thank you to course facilitator Sabrina Nagel for her continued enthusiasm for entrepreneurship and her unwavering support of the participants throughout the programme.
Have an Idea? Let’s Talk!
If you have a business idea or research project and want to explore its commercial potential, click here for more information about the Idea2Impact programme or get in touch with the Ventures team. We’re always here to help!